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Magazine
CULTURE
For arts’ sake
K.K. GOPALAKRISHNAN
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With the Kerala Kalamandalam being declared a Deemed University earlier this year, what does the future hold for this 70-year-old institution?
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“Vallathol never dreamed of converting the Kalamandalam into a University. What he wanted was a Sarva-Kala-Sala, an epitome of excellence in traditional arts." Leela Namboodiripad
Photos: R. Shivaji Rao and Thulasi Shoranur
Focus on quality: A Kalamandalam performance of “Karna Shapatham”.
Kerala Kalamandalam was begun in 1927 in an effort to save the arts of Kerala especially Kathakal by poet laureate Narayana Menon and Manakkulam Mukunda Raja.
Officially inaugurated on November 9, 1930, at Kunnamkulam in Thrissur, it moved to Ambalapuram, near Vadakkancherry in Thrissur in a few months. Soon after, efforts to revive Mohiniyattom also began with the establishment of a dance wing.
Beginnings
In 1933, with a donation of land and building from the rulers of Cochin State, Kalamandalam relocated to Cheruthuruthy village. However both Vallathol and Mukunda Raja found it difficult to cope with the running of the institution. In 1941, Kalamandalam was taken over by the Cochin government and Vallathol was appointed as art director. Mukunda Raja, who had protested against the takeover, resigned from the institute.
In 1944, the Cochin Government took over the premises for military use during World War II. A shattered Vallathol insisted that the Cochin government hand over the administration of Kalamandalam to a committee of art experts. This was approved in 1945. In 1946, when the military returned the premises to Kalamandalam, Vallathol was forced to seek the support of philanthropists to make the building usable.
In 1955 Prime Minister Nehru inaugurated the institute’s silver jubilee celebrations and donated Rs. 100,000, with which 32 acres of land was purchased. Over the years, other art forms of Kerala like Ottanthullal were also included in the curriculum. In 1965, seven years after Vallathol’s death, a faculty for Koodiyattam was begun. In 1957, the first communist government of Kerala approved Kalamandalam as a state academy of arts with a grant-in-aid. Since then a government-appointed committee has administered the Kalamandalam.
With the legendary Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon and his disciples like Kunju Nair, Ramankutty Nair and Padmanabhan Nair on its rolls, Kalamandalam attained a faultless Kathakali style known as the Kalamandalam style, a dignified version of kalluvazhi tradition. Master-artists like the late Krishnankutty Poduval (chenda), Neelakandan Nambeeshan (vocal) and Gopi (acting) contributed towards this development.
However in 1966, a southern style of Kathakali was imposed upon Kalamandalam and protests by maestros like Kunju Nair went unheard. Though trainees stay in the hostel and some teachers and administrative staff within the campus, the Gurukula traditionis not followed at Kalamandalam in the true sense.
Kalamandalam was also instrumental in reviving Mohiniyattom. Vallathol and Mukunda Raja made three attempts, in 1932, 1937 and 1950, towards this end. Guru Sathyabhama, the find of the last attempt, later played a significant role in establishing this art form. Unfortunately, no special course in Mohiniyattom was available at Kalamandalam until recently. A student had to study Bharatanatyam Kuchupudi and Mohiniyattom.
“When I was initiated into Mohiniyattom in 1950, the repertoire was limited to a cholkettu, two jatiswarams, a varnam and a padam. Later l learned from Kalyanikutty Amma
and with this base choreographed more items and equipped Kalamandalam for full-fledged Mohiniyattom recitals,” says Guru Kalamandalam Sathyabhama.
“The changes in the name of providing academic education have reduced the quality of arts training. One should not forget that Kalamandalam is basically a centre for training, performing and preservation of arts. The benefits must go to genuine artists and not to academicians,” Guru Padmanabhan Nair had said a few weeks before his death in April. Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair (82) and Kalamandalam Gopi (70) too advocate “the preservation of tradition to sustain our arts.”
Way back in 1962 the masters submitted a representation to the administrators saying that an eight-year course was not enough to learn an art form like Kathakali and asking for the duration to be increased to 10 years. It was not accepted but students were given an option to continue under a two-year scholarship.
Noted litterateur and former Kalamandalam public relations officer, Leela Namboodiripad, laments: “Vallathol never dreamed of converting the Kalamandalam into a University. What he wanted was a Sarva-Kala-Sala, an epitome of excellence in traditional arts. The disaster began the moment this word was erroneously interpreted as a University. A great blunder was reducing the eight-year basic course in Kathakali to six years. To achieve something in Kathakali acting, one must undergo intensive basic training for at least eight years and advance training for four years with seven to eight hours of daily practice. A MA or PhD are less than peanuts against the artistry of masters like Ramankutty Nair and Padmanabhan Nair.
Changes
However, the first Vice Chancellor of the Kalamandalam Deemed University of Arts and Culture, Prof. K.G. Paulose retorts, “The high school was established to provide formal education to the inmates. We have to think of those who may not become successful as artists. The reduction in quality of training cannot be attributed only to this; other elements are also responsible.”
“Every effort will be made to put Kalamandalam back on the rails, in consultation with art connoisseurs. We will introduce post-graduate courses in Kathakali and Mohiniyattom with emphasis on practical and doctoral programmes. Additionally, there will be space for those who wish to research Kerala arts,” he adds.
Though the UGC has approved deemed university status for Kalamandalam, none of the existing staff qualifies as a teacher. “UGC norms and qualifications cannot apply to existing staff who are specifically identified as ‘artistes’ and not as mere teaching faculty,” comments Paulose.
Everyone is aware that the institution must change with time; becoming a deemed university is a necessity of time. Nevertheless, preserving the rich legacy of arts must be its priority. Connoisseurs feel that the only option is to go for a two-tier system: Students of one group are admitted in the traditional way at the age of 10 or 12 with lucrative scholarships and training in arts supplemented by gradual formal education. The other way is to admit research-oriented students to the arts school.
In the 1950s, Vallathol said: “One has the liberty to make innovations on an art form but, mind you, when you clean the glass frame of a beautiful painting; beware of the dirt on your hands.” Let these be the guiding lines.
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